Tag: Emphysema

Smoking Related Health Problems in Adolescents

Smoking is the cause of many diseases and kills about four hundred and forty two thousand people every year in the United States. In spite of anti smoking campaigns and billboard warnings, more and more people are joining the bandwagon of smokers every year. Out of the total number of new smokers, ninety percent are children and adolescents, replacing smokers who have quit or died early due to a disease caused by smoking. Smoking is the top cause of preventable and premature deaths, followed by obesity.

Smoking not only increases the risk of lung disease, but also increases the risk of contracting lung cancer, oral cancer, emphysema, stroke and heart disease. Certain statistics by the American Lung Associations show alarming results. Over five thousand adolescents smoke their very first cigarette every day, out of which over two thousand turn into regular smokers. Presently there are nearly five million adolescents smokers. Twenty percent of the twelfth graders smoke cigarettes regularly.

Smoking has many harmful affects on the health of a human being. It damages the cardiovascular system, causes high blood pressure, increases heart rate, increases the risk of ischemic stroke, increases the risk of formation of blood clot formation, and decreases the oxygen amount which reaches the tissues in the body, reduces coronary blood flow & cardiac output, and damages the blood vessels. Smoking not only affects physical health, but mental health too. It causes psychological distress and depression.

Smoking not only affects the person who smokes but also other people who surround him/her. According to the American Heart Association, nearly thirty five thousand passive smokers die of smoke inhaled from a lit pipe, cigar or cigarette. People who do not smoke directly and inhale smoke from a cigarette smoke by his/her neighbor is known as passive smoker, secondary smoker or indirect smoker. Among the passive smokers, women, children and infants are at a higher risk. Infants and children who are exposed to smoke develop asthma, frequent ear infections and may even experience infant death syndrome. The symptoms experienced by secondary smokers are coughing, excess mucus formation in the airways, chest discomfort, chest pain, and lung irritation. They even feel irritation of throat, nose and eyes. If the passive smokers experiences chest pain, it can be an indication of a heart disease. Sometimes the symptoms of secondary smoking can coincide with the symptoms of other medical conditions. Hence, it is recommended to contact the doctor immediately after the surfacing of the symptoms.

In active smokers, smoking, apart from building up high cholesterol in blood, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, physical inactivity and diabetes. So smoking cessation will not only reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, which is top of the list, but also decreases the risk by fifty percent of heart attacks and deaths caused by it. But quitting smoking undertakes lots of physical and mental efforts. The person should be made mentally relaxed and stress free. In case of adolescents, they can be asked to exercise regularly and sleep adequately. The American Lung Association and The American Academy of Otolaryngology have developed certain tips which can be of great help to the smokers who are thinking of quitting. The smokers must first be made to understand the reason for quitting. Stress only makes even more difficult to quit smoking, so a stress free period should be chosen to quit. Family and friends encouragement and support are extremely necessary to persuade the smoker to quit. If the support isnt sufficient, smokers can join a smoking cessation program or a support group to attain their goals. A balanced diet is a must, along with lots of rest.

Sometimes taking nicotine replacement products, such as nicotine chewing gum, nicotine inhalers, and nicotine patch, are a great help to smokers who want to quit. By using these products the smokers can satisfy their nicotine craving. The good thing is that these nicotine replacement products can deduct the poisonous gases and tars emitted by the cigarettes. But nursing and pregnant women should consult a doctor before trying nicotine replacement products. For such people non-nicotine alternative is available in the market.

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What Is Chronic Airways Disease and How Can Physiotherapy Help?

What Is Chronic Airways Disease and How Can Physiotherapy Help?

Chronic airways disease is actually a group of diseases. These diseases are also called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Chronic airways disease can cause a major change in the quality of a patient’s life. However, physiotherapy can help.

Diseases included in chronic airways disease are chronic bronchitis and emphysema, for example. Many other diseases that restrict or limit breathing are included. It is most often caused by cigarette smoking, but also can be caused by inhaling other irritants such as those in the workplace. Chronic airways disease is more common among the elderly.

Along with having shortness of breath, the patient is likely to wheeze and cough frequently. He will produce sputum in copious amounts, and sometimes that will be streaked with blood. The lips and fingers can take on a bluish tint because he is not getting enough oxygen, and heart trouble may follow for the same reason.

Physiotherapy can help with chronic airways disease in many ways. One is in breathing retraining. This is just what it sounds like. A physiotherapist works with the patient to teach him ways to breathe that will draw the most air while eliminating the most wheezing. This can be a great help for those with chronic airways disease.

Another method used by physiotherapists for those with chronic airways disease is called clapping and postural drainage. The postural drainage part is done by positioning the body so that the affected lung is above the trachea.

Many people do this at home by lying on a bed and bending the top half of the body over it. The physiotherapist teaches one how to do this so that the lung will drain. Before long, the patient with chronic airways disease will be doing this procedure on his own.

The other part of the help for chronic airways disease patients is called clapping. This is done by cupping the hand and clapping the back to loosen secretions in the chest. It is also called chest percussion. The physiotherapist will do this procedure, and will teach it to a family member or caregiver.

People with chronic airways disease often have a problem with weakening legs. This is because, as they have trouble breathing, they avoid walking or doing physical exercise of any sort. The goal of physiotherapy in this case is to strengthen the legs through treadmill-walking or stationary-cycling. This can only be done, however, if the patient is well enough to start out.

Conditioning the arms of chronic airways disease patients is just as important. Most daily jobs rely heavily on the arms to do the work. Exercises which focus on the arms not only strengthen the muscles of the arms. They also help the patient start breathing better.

Chronic airways disease is a condition that can benefit from physiotherapy. The physiotherapist treating the patient must have specialized knowledge for this type of treatment. Simple methods can be overlooked as modern treatments come to the forefront. Yet, physiotherapy personnel who know this technique can make a big difference in patients’ lives.

MASSAGE THERAPY FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

With the baby boomers aging and with the help of higher technology and greater innovations in medicine and geriatric science, life is not merely being prolonged but more and more senior citizens today have the opportunity to take advantage of more quality life than ever before. This translates into a generation of more senior citizens of more advanced ages living among us, and that is, in my opinion a very good thing. National demographic studies tell us that nearly 40 million Americans are currently 65 years of age or older and over 2,000 more reach age 65 every single day. To accommodate the ever grown demand for massage therapy among senior citizens, many massage therapists are choosing to expand their expertise by studying the art of age-specific massage therapy which is often referred to as seniors massage or geriatric massage.

For the most part, massage therapy for senior citizens is extremely beneficial and of utmost importance to relieve the aches, the pains, the stiffness and the great number of health condition which are so often associated with aging; such as inflammations in the joints; arthritis; skin discoloration and other dermatological conditions; deteriorating muscles and bones; fading eyesight and loss of hearing, reduced appetite and therefore weight loss, poor blood circulation; sleep disorders; weakened mental capacity, tendonitis; bursitis; asthma; emphysema; high blood pressures; diminished functions of the internal vital organs such as the heart, the liver, the brain, the thyroid, the stomach and the intestines; and so much more. Most importantly, however, lonely and isolated, depressed, anxious and fearful senior citizens derive pricelessly valuable benefits from the simple pleasure of the caressing human touch and the intimate companionship afforded them during massage therapy sessions.

The Weavers Tale Retreat Center in the State of Oregon recently conducted a two-year study examining the effects of massage therapy for senior citizens and they found that at least 50 percent of the elderly who were tested showed a reduction in their rates of breathing, an increase in their range of motion, an improvement of their postures, development of more body awareness, their skin took on healthier colors and their muscle tones were enhanced. The same study also showed that 100 percent of the senior citizen who were tested showed a dramatic improvement in their moods and their attitudes toward life in general.

Massage therapy for senior citizens does not differ in technique but it does differ, and it differs greatly in the application of that technique, whichever that technique may be. In other words, just about any of the different massage techniques can be used on senior citizen but they must be modified enough to accommodate the facts that, very often, the skin of senior citizens have become thinner while growing much less pliable and much more easily broken, their bones are thinner and more brittle, their joints are more stiff with reduced range of mobility, their blood vessels are more prominent and closer to the surface of the skin and their overall health, vigor and vitality have been downgraded through the years. Taking all that into consideration, extra care musts be taken when positioning them on the massage tables, they should never be expected to perform the same movements as younger adults, and wheelchair-bound or bedridden seniors should get their massage treatments while remaining seated in their chairs or reclining in their beds.

Most massages for senior citizens are limited to anywhere from thirty to forty five minutes because the elderly seem to respond better to shortened sessions with greater frequency. Furthermore, greater time is usually spent on massaging their hands and feet than any other part of their bodies. That is especially true for those seniors who have lost the use of their hands and feet as massaging them will enhance their body awareness as well as increase sensations and blood circulation throughout.

We all need plenty of TLC (tender love and care) but senior citizens need and deserve quite a bit more of it.

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How Detox Wrap Works Miracles to Your Body

Feeling good about oneself is not just about making a beautiful outward appearance. Most people still believe that beauty shines from within. Being pretty on the outside is not an assurance that you have a beautiful inside too.

It is but natural for people to eat different kinds of food, drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, take oral contraceptives, and many more. And you’re probably one of those people who still don’t know the harm caused by these things or just chose to ignore them.

When a person drinks alcohol, or eat foods with preservatives/additives, drink too much alcohol, etc. toxins are readily taken into the body. Toxins are considered as chemicals, but the body has its own natural way of detoxifying it, and this is exhibited when a person urinates, and through his stool.

In the long run, these toxins can build up inside your body. The body’s natural way of detoxifying these toxins will not be enough, and so it becomes inefficient. That is why you will need to aid the detoxification process. Otherwise, you will soon acquire hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, and insufficient metabolism.

If you experience symptoms like lethargy, allergies, occasional pains, and dull skin, then most likely you need a body detox because toxins inside the body have already accumulated.

Body wraps are now offered for people who want to undergo the detoxification process. Body wraps are specially-formulated to draw out all the toxins in the body. It is made from sea clay which acts as a huge poultice; and the clay draws out the toxins, compressing the soft skin tissues which regain the skin’s elasticity. You can expect for a muscle base that is firmer and smoother.

How does a body wrap detox the body? For many years, the toxins inside your body have already built up around and between fat cells. And these toxins are usually gaining in number depending on a person’s lifestyle.

The body detox wrap shapes your entire body, repositioning the body’s fat cells, which further results to inch loss. People who want to lose inches from their thighs, buttocks and other particular body parts can use a body wrap to achieve weight loss almost immediately.

The body wrap enter the pores of your skin until it finally reaches the toxins. The toxins comes either back through the bandages or flushed out. You must take note however that the sea clay is concentrated, and after a few days, you can actually the inches lost from your body.

Dont worry if you still drink plenty of water because the body wrap does not dehydrate the body. You can still drink still drink plenty of water without gaining weight; you need not wash off the wrap-solution.

Once the toxins are out of your system, they will never come back. However, with your lifestyle, your body will again start to build up toxins, whether you like it or not.

You can choose among the many body detox wraps available, they also come in different brands. Some offer money back guarantees to promote their product, and most of them offers a 30 days to inch-loss promise.

Not all people can take advantage of the body detox wrap. Those that have phlebitis or emphysema, as well as pregnant women, can’t utilize a body wrap.

With all the diseases that are spreading all throughout the world, its time to get rid of those unwanted body toxins. Detox now through a body wrap.